Comment:  My career included working at the Industrial Facilities Contracting office handling  all of the Air Force Plants -- this article is alarming to me personally since it shows the messes military bases and industrial manufacturing sites have created with various hazardous material handling as risks to ourselves and the civilian populations nearby.  And yes, other contracting offices I was in bought safe well sampling of underground large aquifer and clean-up efforts!
For Missileers this should also be alarming as we look for what is going wrong causing our health issues.

"Air Force Bucks EPA Order to Clean Up 'Forever Chemicals' in Arizona, Citing Supreme Court Ruling"

https://www.military.com/daily-news/2024/08/13/air-force-bucks-epa-order-clean-forever-chemicals-arizona-citing-supreme-court-ruling.html

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Comment:  Analysis from AI generated materials with no sources cited.   

Quote:  

Air force lawyers are fighting an emergency order from the environmental protection agency

The Air Force is contesting an emergency order from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to clean contaminated drinking water in Arizona, citing a recent Supreme Court ruling that restricts regulatory agencies’ authority. The EPA’s order, issued in late May, requires the Air Force to develop a plan within 60 days to address per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contamination in the drinking water.

Rationale

Air Force lawyers argue that the Supreme Court’s decision in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, which reduced regulatory agencies’ power by pushing authority to the courts to interpret ambiguous laws (Chevron deference), makes the EPA’s order moot. They claim that the EPA’s interpretation of the statutory terms is not entitled to deference, thereby limiting the agency’s authority to issue the order.

Contamination Sources

The contaminated drinking water is attributed to the Air Force’s activities at Tucson International Airport and Morris Air National Guard Base, including former aircraft and electronics manufacturing, aircraft maintenance, fire drill trainings, and leaking chemicals from unlined landfills.

Stakeholders’ Concerns

Environmental advocates warn that the Air Force’s challenge to the EPA order could have far-reaching implications, potentially allowing polluters to evade responsibility and undermine regulatory oversight. Former EPA officials and legal experts have questioned the Air Force’s application of the Chevron doctrine ruling to this specific case, suggesting it may not be applicable.

Implications

The dispute highlights the high stakes in scenarios where regulatory agencies’ authority is challenged, with clean drinking water and public health hanging in the balance. The outcome may set a precedent for how polluters respond to regulatory orders in the wake of the Supreme Court’s ruling.